The identity of Pictomancer is being destroyed

[Supersnow845]

Weird, considering how much more damage Picto deals compared to Red Mage and Summoner. Their rezz is good for progging of course, but their actual DPS is still in the gutter to make up for it.

Maybe compared to SMN but PCT is struggling to offer enough damage to justify itself over RDM’s rezz considering on half the fights it’s closer to RDM than it is to the weakest melee

Especially if you run something like a VPR in 6, VPR puts out enough damage it’s safer to swap a PCT for a rezz caster

The damage profile was (and still is) the problem though, or rather is a problem unless different jobs being inherently superior or inferior at different types of content is desired as the target balance.

That is, we're all okay that ultimate DPS checks are tuned to require a Pictomancer, as they're naturally superior at it, AoE DPS checks are tuned to require a Black Mage, etc etc. In that case, even the previous iteration was more than okay, still a bit overtuned, but not by that much.

The bigger issue really is: How do keep the identity of pictomancer, which is naturally liking downtime and interruptions, while also removing exactly that element from their damage profile? The devs tried via shifting potency around, but overdid it. By a marginal amount though, ~10-20 potency back, and it's again a net-positive. And being just barely a net-positive is actually kinda cool, it'd mean like tank gapclosers it's also worth sitting on mobility tools for upcoming mobility even if it slightly drifts their CD, as they're only such a marginal dummy damage gain. But they are one, so they're never not worth using. I think it was something like 10 potency back from filler to creature muses and 20 to hammer or so.

You also have to remember that the “very slight loss/gain movement tool that you can sit on” is already filled by holy in white for a loss of comet in black for a gain. You have to consider how the job feels to play. Hammer is a crit direct hit, it also requires 4 seconds to prep it. Muses are designed to feel powerful, not barely be a DPS gain you can functionally afford to ignore as PCT was designed to ignore the aetherhues